Hello, my som is now 26 yrs old diagnosed with PDD in the 1st grade. It has been a tough road and we have had speacial education classes in a speacial school for troubled children. But my son graduated from high schoolequivalent classes and help of theraputic staff. He still has a few problems with taking money from aquaintences but today he is so much better than he was as a child.
You definately need speacial education and trained staff. Hang in there!! I am!!

Also might depend on where your child falls on "the spectrum". Some people with autism are not able to talk or interact with people much at all (I have seen a boy with autism at the McDonalds on occasion and he plays well with the 3 year olds, and he is 12 and could not socialize with his own age group because I think mentally he's at the age of a preschooler). Most people with PDD are not like this, though. That boy wears a helmet on his head. His mom said that he suffers from a seizure disorder. I'm sure that doesn't help his social skills either because people see the helmet and wonder why he's wearing it. I wondered. I asked the mom instead of turning away or staring. Being different is hard. I think being a parent and watching your child struggle with things is also hard. I'm not dealing too well right now listening to some preschoolers complain to their parents about how they don't want to play with my daughter at play dates. She's wierd. She doesn't know how to talk to them. She holds their hands wrong while playing ring around the rosies and she can't sing the song right. She acts goofy. Yup, I can see this continue as she gets to elementary, middle, and high school. It won't be ring around the rosies at that point, but it'll be something different for the age. I want her to be happy, have friends, and be successful. Kids are mean. People are mean, too, for that matter. Not everybody, but a couple in a bunch of people can seem like everybody sometimes.

You will see both ends of the spectrum. I have a daughter who was diagnosed with PDD but was told that she is very "high functioning" and will most likely go to college, have a career if she wants one, and be a happy adjusted person as long as she continues with therapy and gets help to learn to make adjustments and coping skills as she grows older. I realize that she will have some issues for the rest of her life, and yes, this will probably impact her schooling, job search, and social life. I have met people online with kids of different ages and different outcomes. So, it really is hard to say and there is no magic crystal ball.

Hopefully some of the adults with PDD or aspergers on the forum can respond to you.

My brother knows several people with aspergers who live out in Silicon Valley area of California. Most of them are engineers and seem to function quite well, hold jobs, and have famillies. One of them plays in his Dungeons & Dragons group (yes, my brother still plays D&D in his 30s). There is also another man who has aspergers who is in one of his board gaming groups. He and his wife have a daughter in elementary school with sensory integration dysfunction/disorder and has problems with auditory processing. My brother tells me about these people he knows, I guess, in hopes that I know that my daughter can grow up happy and adjusted and get along okay in life. He doesn't really talk to his friends about the issues they have. My brother never is one for talking about personal issues with anyone. Oh, and like think about surgeons. They seem to lack social skills. Of course, I'd rather have a surgeon who is the best who can go in and operate and do a heart transplant than a surgeon who is all able to socially communicate and talk to you. Do these people have behavioral issues? Or can you not say that because they are successful career wise? Who knows. Maybe I watched too many House reruns on TV. I've also seen contractors come out to my house over the years. You know, electricians, locksmiths, roofers, that sort of thing. I wouldn't say any of them had any social communication skills. Locksmith grunted, couldn't even look me in the eye, and said nothing other than "I'll mail you the bill." Recently I've had a house appraiser who just ignored every question I asked and never even said goodbye when he left (took me awhile to realize he wasn't in the house anymore). Yet, I'm sure he's a happy and sucessful person career wise and hopefully happy in his personal life.

Honestly I see my daughter growing up happy and getting by in life. Doesn't mean all her issues will go away or that she will be "normal" as viewed by the majority of society. But, I figure if she learns to communicate well enough, learn some coping strategies for her sensory issues, and learns some coping strategies for her OCD-like issues (I think it's called ritualistic behavior by therapists).... well, I strongly feel that my daughter will grow up happy, go to college, and be able to get by in life and be happy.

There certainly are a lot of adults who are "normal" who are unhappy. You know the people who work 80 hour weeks and have no time for social life and try to get to the top of the career ladder? Well, some of them are happy doing so, but I've met some quite intelligent people with professional careers who are pretty miserable.

Uh, I don't mean to say that everyone with PDD is going to be able to hold jobs. It's just that you can't limit your kids to what they can accomplish. And if they can't accomplish those things, you shouldn't make them feel less of a person for it. I can't hold a job and be a good mom because of some health issues that I have. I chose to be a good mom which means I can't work. There are some who feel that a person can not be considered a contributing member to society if they aren't a professional or hold a job in some sense. People are more forgiving if you have children. Before I had my daughter, I had to cut my hours to part-time because of my health issues. This also meant taking a lesser career track to do so. I know some friends of mine did not understand. Even some family members.

Well, anyways, some people are not able to hold jobs, for whatever reason. So if your child grows up and is not able to hold a job... work with them to get some sort of job training. Be proud of them for whatever job they can hold. Or be proud of them even if they can't hold any and have to rely on social security.

Um, well, anyways, wanted to add this on top of what I wrote just previous.

Thank you so much. Nobody knows the future but what you have shared has given me an idea what to expect and what to not. Presently my son is a happy adorable baby (5 yrs) which I thank God. He is a blessing to me and I appreciate for all the information you have shared with me. Once again thanks a lot

my son was diagnosed PDD NOS and Im just curious but I was under the impression that 20-26 years ago PDD NOS was not even a term that was used yet...from my understanding this is something relatively new...just wondering how you got that diagnosis so long ago?

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